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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

I Just Caught a Swarm of BEES!!!

I can't believe it. Last week there was a swarm of bees on our trampoline. Today I looked out my window to check on my fruit trees and there was a swarm of bees on my little baby apple tree. 
I learned my lesson from last time. I knew that I needed to work quickly and that I couldn't wait for Michael to get home or the swarm could be gone. I grabbed the bee veil, a long sleeved white shirt, and got the smoker going.  I found a tupperware box and drilled some little holes in it for air and put a couple marshmallows in the box. I then remembered that a Backyard Farming reader, Michelle, had emailed me her phone number in case I ever had any questions about bees. So sweet of her! So, I took her up on that and gave her a call. She was awesome and walked me through the process. 

The bees had broken off a branch and it was laying on the ground covered in bees. I started with putting that in the box. I then held the box right under the clump of bees and shook the tree as hard as I dared (I didn't want to break my tree). I probably only got about half the bees in the box. Michelle explained to me that I probably got the queen in the box because the bees that didn't make it in the box were trying to get into the box where the queen was. 
The next step was a labor of love. Using a bee brush I would tip the lid and brush the bees into the box. I then would have to wait for the bees to calm down and regroup on the box, then repeat brushing them into the box. 
I have them in the shade for now, and I'm going to try to round up another bee box. 

Wahoo! I'm on a little adrenaline rush right now!

~marisa


23 comments:

Molly said...

I am seriously impressed! Nicely done!

kelli said...

beee careful!=) what will you do with the bees in the box?

MAYBELLINE said...

What the heck?!
You rock.
Your pioneer stock is showing.

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Too cool! We caught our first swarm this spring. We'd always wanted to keep bees and we got some....for free! :) Good luck in your new adventure!

Unknown said...

Thanks guys. I'm going to try and round up a hive today so we can keep the bees. Otherwise I will have to give them away.

MissMOE said...

Quite awesome!

bandwidow said...

Too cool...my adrenaline is running high just reading that! Maybe it's the one that got away!

Paul and Ines said...

you are so brave!! i love the idea of beekeeping but I'm a wuss...so i keep learning about it...maybe one day ???? can't wait to hear how you keep em :)

Corn and Wine said...

You did a great job, Marisa! I hope you can find a brood box. Can't wait to see the next chapter in the story. :)

Dollwood Farms said...

NICE job, I am impressed too!

Meg@MegaCrafty said...

Wow holy cow am I impressed! I've never seen a swarm of bee's- I think you having seen them twice like that was definitely a sign that you were meant to catch them. Hope you find a hive for them, keeping my fingers crossed for you!

daisy g said...

Go Marisa!!!
What a blessing that you got a second chance!

Tressa said...

Way to go and we missed it by just a few days :). Maybe you need to have a spare bee box just in case :)

Judy T said...

WOW! I'm impressed! And what a deal if you can find another hive. Another hive= Awesome
Judy

Mike said...

Good things come to us Marisa.

Kristi said...

I had to take a xanax after reading that. You are too cool Marisa!

Veggie PAK said...

You did a great job! Way to keep your cool!

F.M said...

Wow Marisa, you've bee-come a Bee wrangler! Good for you! Well done.

Dale Johnson said...

And you even took pictures while you were doing it. Incredible!

We have a teenager here in Maryland that has many hives that he puts out in farmers fields. He gives the farmers about 3 pounds of honey as payment. Some vegetable farmers pay him to put the bees in the fields.

There are many people who make a living doing this but I am impressed with a teenager that has built it into a business. Perhaps you kids may be interested in doing this when they get a little older.

Jennifer said...

Phew! Your mention of a Tupperware container had me envisioning what I put my leftovers in -- ha ha! I was worried! Two swarms in one week defies logic. Maybe word on the street (or, in the air) from your original bees, boasting of their cool owners, lured the others your way.

Becky said...

Wow. That is so awesome!! Totally impressed. Good job! :)

Kassie said...

hooray!! You must have a "Bees Welcome here" sign at your house too!! Congrats.

billi said...

How cool!! We have two hives and we just put on another box (don't know the terminology, yet) I hope to get as comfortable with it all as you.